COVID-19 and the Industrial Hygienist

COVID-19 and the Industrial Hygienist:

I did not realize toilets were such a problem.  This is from a page run by the AIHA, who are Industrial Hygienists.

STEVE WELTY:

One unique example would be toilet aerosolization. Although diarrhea does not occur in the majority of COVID-19 cases, the coronavirus has been isolated in stool samples, and numerous studies have demonstrated the ability of biological particles to be aerosolized through toilet flushing. For a virus, a flushing toilet event is like being whipped up in a frothing undercurrent and launched airborne in a water droplet. That droplet quickly evaporates, becoming a “droplet nuclei,” which can stay airborne for hours and also be sucked upwards into the bathroom fan’s exhaust. Toilet-aerosolized droplet nuclei lifted into the breathing zones of unsuspecting individuals can be breathed into their lungs. Studies in the

Journal of Applied Microbiology

(JAM) and the

American Journal of Infection Control

(AJIC) indicate that for seven to twelve flushes later, airborne microbes are still being aerosolized.

For a virus, a flushing toilet event is like being whipped up in a frothing undercurrent and launched airborne in a water droplet. That droplet quickly evaporates, becoming a “droplet nuclei,” which can stay airborne for hours and also be sucked upwards into the bathroom fan’s exhaust. Toilet-aerosolized droplet nuclei lifted into the breathing zones of unsuspecting individuals can be breathed into their lungs. Studies in the

Journal of Applied Microbiology

(JAM) and the

American Journal of Infection Control

(AJIC) indicate that for seven to twelve flushes later, airborne microbes are still being aerosolized.